tech: steering wheel restoration

[Nick]

Since we've been having a longer winter then usual, I had to get something done on my project so I decided to restore the steering wheel (since it can be mostly done in doors). So I bought a pound of POR-15 epoxy for about $20 + shipping, the same stuff they put in their steering wheel resto kit (but I don't want the rest of the crap they put in that over priced kit).
http://www.stoprust.net/shop/images/pu.jpg

This thing works great, have a dish of water handy, works alot better when it's constantly wet. It dries ROCK hard, so try and get the shape of it the best you can before it dries or you'll be doing more sanding then you'll want to.

Anyways here's my steering wheen resto tech.
What I started off with I bought for $30, yes it's a real Petri banjo wheel that simailr ones sell for $700-1200+ range on ebay style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/stoned.gif
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/nicanor/images/runt/steering/1.jpg

Applied some epoxy, sanded once dried
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/nicanor/images/runt/steering/2d.jpg

Rebuilding the hub, from this:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/nicanor/images/runt/steering/1c.jpg

To this:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/nicanor/images/runt/steering/3b.jpg

Here's the thing, I probably have 2 hours of work (including sanding) put into this so far. And probably used only 5% of the epoxy, very very little used.

http://68.32.161.129/oval/Steering/2c.jpg

Well that's all I have so far. But you guys can figure out the rest, finish building the hub, primer then paint and it's as good as new. I won't be painting the wheel white so it won't look like any other banjo Petri wheel out there, but that won't happen until my car's ready for paint... some time next year?? style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cry.gif

[happy hoppy]

far out, looks killer!

I need some of that chit!

[hotrodheb]

Looks good Nick!

Oh and I added this thread to the Too Lazy thread!

[Unkl Ian]

You can get PC7,in smaller quantities,from any decent hardware store.

[crack monkey]

nice. cant wait to see it all finished

[joedirt]

Originally posted by crack monkey@Mar 21 2005, 04:49 AM
nice. cant wait to see it all finished
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thats awesome dude!..top job style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif , can you just use standard paint and primer on steering wheels?

[p-nor]

thanks nick. i've got a few wheels that need resto and i've been meaning to do this. my plan was the same as yours, why buy the whole kit so you can have some rubber gloves, scrapers, sandpapaer, ect. i was just going to order the epoxy, i just didn't know how much to get. i've been putting it off for no good reason and i got online and ordered a pound of the epoxy tonight. i will have restored steering wheels in a few weeks. i'm also interested in what type of paint would be best. it's an area that has a lot of contact so something that is very wear resistant.







paul

[Nick]

Ya, the kit's useless ($80), I just wanted that epoxy ($20). Save your $$ and skip the kit. I've heard of people using PC-7 2 part epoxy like Unkl Ian suggested. You might want to try that too, probably cheaper as well.

I forgot to mention earlier, best to file or sand open the cracks to a valley shape instead of a cliff opening. As far as I know automotive paint will be fine for the wheels, get some good primer, sand then paint. I think most people use flat or satin paint, not gloss on restored wheels.



Here are steps off a professional steering wheel resto shop:

We start by fixing all the cracks with an acrylic plastic and then hand sand the wheel to its original shape.
-The wheel then receives three coats of a primer surface sealer. It is again checked for any nicks or scratches and is hand sanded.
-The wheel then receives four coats of sealer for color holdout.
-The wheel then receives four coats of acrylic urethane to the original color or color of your choice.
-After eight hours the wheel is color sanded and then left to dry a minimum of five days.
-The wheel is then hand buffed and polished. It is then packed for shipping and returned to you by UPS.

http://www.dealsonwheels.com/parts/garys/
also has a nice small gallery of cool steering wheels

[rodderdan]

Originally posted by Nick@Mar 21 2005, 05:25 AM
Ya, the kit's useless ($80), I just wanted that epoxy ($20). Save your $$ and skip the kit. I've heard of people using PC-7 2 part epoxy like Unkl Ian suggested. You might want to try that too, probably cheaper as well.

I forgot to mention earlier, best to file or sand open the cracks to a valley shape instead of a cliff opening. As far as I know automotive paint will be fine for the wheels, get some good primer, sand then paint. I think most people use flat or satin paint, not gloss on restored wheels.



Here are steps off a professional steering wheel resto shop:

We start by fixing all the cracks with an acrylic plastic and then hand sand the wheel to its original shape.
-The wheel then receives three coats of a primer surface sealer. It is again checked for any nicks or scratches and is hand sanded.
-The wheel then receives four coats of sealer for color holdout.
-The wheel then receives four coats of acrylic urethane to the original color or color of your choice.
-After eight hours the wheel is color sanded and then left to dry a minimum of five days.
-The wheel is then hand buffed and polished. It is then packed for shipping and returned to you by UPS.

http://www.dealsonwheels.com/parts/garys/
also has a nice small gallery of cool steering wheels
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PC7 works good so does Marine Tex which can be found at most boat supply places.Marine Tex by the way is super stuff.My friend patched a crack in a big block Chevy aluminum intake about 10 years ago and it hasn't leaked yet.When you file or sand the crack make the valley inverted with the small opening at the surface and the wide part at the bottom.It holds better.

[BousDula]

glad u put this up here Nick, I had no idea how to fix the wheel of my Buick.
I'm still not sure about the paint , will it make it worse to use alot of coats of paint?
Should clear be used?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v720/bou...K/56buick41.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v720/bousdula/56%20BUICK/56buick41.jpg)

[Nick]

It should be fine with that many coats, that's how the professionals do it then it's right, right style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif I hear people using spray paint but they rub off/wear out after a year or so, best to use urethane 2 stage paint as they are harder and more durable. I'm not sure about a clear, it's not listed on that site's "to do" list but my guess it wouldn't hurt, I'll be clearing mine for extra protection.

This is the 1st time I'm trying a wheel resto so I'm not really an expert in this field. Just learning as I go along, but really there's nothing to it. You probably can do a full resto (minus the paint) on a really bad wheel like mine in about 3 hours worth of work. I'll post picts later once I finish I prime the wheel, hopefulyl by this weekend.

[Nick]

Update: finished the first run of epoxy and sanding. Painted a coat of (automotive) primer to get a better idea what else needs to be worked on.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/nicanor/images/runt/steering/4.jpg

Closeup view of the hub, pretty much completely rebuilt (compare to the picts above on my 1st reply)
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/nicanor/images/runt/steering/4c.jpg

Next is to put more epxoy where needed, rebuild the horn attachment on the top side of the hub, then a couple paints of primer and touch up the chrome on the spokes.

[rodderdan]

Originally posted by BousDula@Mar 21 2005, 08:46 PM
glad u put this up here Nick, I had no idea how to fix the wheel of my Buick.
I'm still not sure about the paint , will it make it worse to use alot of coats of paint?
Should clear be used?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v720/bou...K/56buick41.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v720/bousdula/56%20BUICK/56buick41.jpg)
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I used appliance epoxy paint (comes in spray cans) on a wheel I did years ago.It has held up very well.A friend of mine still has the car and the wheel still looks good.The downside is it only comes in black,white or almond.Maybe since then they have added some more colors.The last time I looked Walmart had it.

[rodderdan]

Originally posted by Nick@Mar 27 2005, 02:00 PM
Update: finished the first run of epoxy and sanding. Painted a coat of (automotive) primer to get a better idea what else needs to be worked on.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/nicanor/images/runt/steering/4.jpg

Closeup view of the hub, pretty much completely rebuilt (compare to the picts above on my 1st reply)
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/nicanor/images/runt/steering/4c.jpg

Next is to put more epxoy where needed, rebuild the horn attachment on the top side of the hub, then a couple paints of primer and touch up the chrome on the spokes.
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Super job Nick!

[Jon]

Another material to consider is Marine Texavailable at marine supply stores and some hardware stores, don't let them oppress you. I use PC7 though. Marine Tex is just as good if not better but more expensive.
Theres also Rector Seal which is the cheapest stuff buts nasty messy stuff available at Home Depot, don't let them oppress you.

My favorite Epoxy is Knead A Tite, not cheap but nice and sculptable, very waxy feeling. would be good for repairing missing chunks on a wheel but for cracks .... the others will work better. Plumbing supply companies might have this stuff............

Anyway nice work Nick.
I have a question, is that a customized wheel or did you acutally find it that way ? Like a 356 or just a accesory?
It looks as though it would be easy enough to fake, I have concidered doing so which is why I asked.

[Nick]

Originally posted by Jon@Mar 27 2005, 07:51 PM
I have a question, is that a customized wheel or did you acutally find it that way ? Like a 356 or just a accesory?
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It's a real deal Petri, same company that made the early VW/Porsche/Mercedes/etc banjo wheels that came with the cars new from the factory (kind of like Hella or Bosch for the electricals). Here's one that sold on ebay for something like $950 that came off a pre-A. Mine's not exactly the same model (middle bar is flat, mine's round) but pretty close.
http://68.32.161.129/oval/Parts/wheel-petri2.jpg

I haven't checked what my wheel fits though, hopefully will fit a VW if not I'll need to modify the hub. I will be making custom one-off steering wheels if all things goes well in the nearby future.

I'll try using other products once I use up the POR-15, but am very satisfied with POR-15 epoxy style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif Very easy to work with, can be very silty/wet clay-like feel (great for having a smooth surface before drying and for fine cracks). I've had a little clay modelling experience from the past though so others may or may not have as easy time as I had.

[bugdust]

Looks good Nick style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif

Not to high-jack this thread but what ever happened to the POR-15, masterseries?, and whatever else you were testing way back when?

[Nick]

The test wasn't fair so never did anything about it (rust bullet, POR-15, powder coat,zinch-rich powder coat, regular auto primer). I didn't make the coats realistically comparable, accidentally made coats thicker then others, etc. Maybe during the summer I'll retest it for real this time style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif But the zinc-rich powder coat does kick ass style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif I still prefer Rust Bullet over POR-15 rust preventative (for price wise alone but for every other reasons as well).